The Lahore

Resolution of
1940
The road to religious partition

Presented by: Nishat Anjum Bini

Junior Lecturer
Department of History and Philosophy
1
North South University
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Table of Contents
 Introduction
 Background and factors
 Reaction towards the Lahore Resolution
 Main clauses of Lahore Resolution
 Ambiguity and limitations
 Significance
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Introduction
 Lahore Resolution was a formal political statement
adopted by the All-India Muslim League on the
occasion of its three-day general session
in Lahore on 22–24 March 1940. The resolution
called for independent Muslim states.
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The Second World War(1939-1945)

and the move towards partition
 On 3 September 1939, Britain announced that it was at war with Nazi
Germany(Third Reich).On the same day, Viceroy Linlithgow
announced that India, too, was at war with Germany.
 Congress objected to this announcement, saying that if India was to fight, it
could only do so if it were granted a promise of full independence. The
British would not grant this, but instead promised Dominion status after the
war. Congress could not accept this and called on its members to resign from
government.
 Before doing so, however, it passed a resolution setting out its ‘entire
disapproval’ of Nazism and Fascism. It supported the British cause, but
would not support Britain without a promise of independence.
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The Second World War(1939-1945)

and the move towards partition
The Muslim League also had demands to be met
before it would agree to support the British. Jinnah
demanded:
 an end to the anti-Muslim policies by Congress
 that no law affecting Muslims should be passed
unless two-thirds of Muslim member supported it
 that Congress should agree to form coalitions in
provincial administrations.
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The Second World War (1939-1945)

and the move towards partition
 Neither the British, nor Congress, would agree to
these demands. Consequently, throughout the war
the Muslim League’s position was one where it did
not give full support to the British.
 However, like Congress, it disapproved of Nazism
and Fascism, so did not go as far as actually
opposing the British.
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The divide between League and Congress widens

 AsCongress members had resigned from

government, on 22 December 1939, the Muslim
League called a ‘Day of Deliverance’ across the
sub-continent to celebrate the end of the ‘tyranny,
oppression and injustice’ that had occurred under
Congress rule.
 Congress was deeply offended by this and Nehru
was moved to comment on how Congress and the
Muslim League now seemed to agree on very little.
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The Lahore Resolution,1940: time to

consider a Muslim state

 Three years of Congress rule, and a growing realisation that

the British would soon be forced to leave India, convinced
Jinnah that it was time to consider establishing a Muslim state.
 At the 27th annual session of the All-India Muslim League
held in Lahore on 23 March 1940, the Premier of Bengal,
A.K Fazlul-Haq, presented the resolution .
 The resolution was originally written by Muhammad
Zafarullah Khan.
 On 24th March,1940, the resolution was passed
unanimously amid great enthusiasm.
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Muslim leaders from across British India at the All-India Muslim

League Working Committee session in Lahore,1940
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Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq presented the

historical Lahore resolution in 1940
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1909 Map of the British India

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Factors behind the formation of

Lahore Resolution
 Role of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
 British Policies in India
 Lucknow Pact and 14-points of Jinnah
 Reaction to Nehru Report
 Growing influence of Hindu Nationalism in India
 Failures of the round-table conferences
 Role of the Muslim intellectuals
 Ineffectiveness of the India Act of 1935
 Results of the Provincial elections of 1937
 Two-nation theory of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
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Main clauses of Lahore Resolution

 the resolution reiterated that the scheme of federation embodied in the Government of
India Act, 1935, is totally unsuited to, and unworkable in the peculiar conditions of
this country and is altogether unacceptable to Muslim India.
 that no constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to
Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principle, namely that
geographically contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so
constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary, that the
areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North-Western
and Eastern Zones of India, should be grouped or constitute “Independent
States” in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.
 adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be provided in the constitution
for minorities in these units and in these regions for the protection of their religious,
cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in
consultation with them
 to frame a scheme of constitution in accordance with these basic principles, providing
for the assumption finally by the respective regions of all powers such as defence,
external affairs, communications, customs and such other matters as may be necessary.
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Reaction towards the Lahore

Resolution
Reaction of Congress leaders:
 Mahatma Gandhi termed the resolution as a great sin and a
suicidal decision.
 Jawaharlal Nehru referred the resolution as an impractical
scheme and compared it to the Balkan crisis in Europe.
 In different Congress-influenced newspapers ,Lahore Resolution
was being denoted as Pakistan Resolution. But there was no
mention of Pakistan anywhere in the original document.
 Congress elected Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as the party
president for the tenure of 1940-1945 to make people understand
the unity of Indian people.
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Reaction towards the Lahore

Resolution
Reaction of Muslims in India and Bengal:
 Muslims in India and Bengal showed their mixed
reaction towards the Lahore resolution.
 Some Muslim Congress leaders vehemently
opposed the scheme
 Prominent leaders like A.K. Fazlul Huq and Hussain
Shahid Suhrwardy thought that Bengal would
finally become an independent and sovereign entity
in case of the resolution’s execution.
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Reaction towards the Lahore

Resolution
 Reaction of British Government
 There was mixed reaction from British
government also.
 Britain was badly in need of support from both the
communities of India as the country was involved
in World War II.
 The British Secretary for Indian Affairs indirectly
supported the resolution.
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Ambiguity and limitation of the

resolution
 In 1946, however, in a fundamental departure from the original
Lahore Resolution, the Muslim League replaced word 'states' by
simply ‘state.’
 Some leading figures from Bengal such as Abul Hashim opposed
this unwarranted amendment, which meant a single state for the
Muslims of India instead of several states, originally proposed in
1940.
 However, the Muslim leadership continued to stick to the
amendment and this reflected in the formation a single state for the
Muslims of India, comprising West and East Pakistan.
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Significance of Lahore Resolution

 With the passage of this resolution, Muhammad
Ali Jinnah tactfully managed to change the
demand from “separate electorate” to “separate
state”.
 It gave new energy and courage to the Muslims
leaders of the regions and the dynamic leadership
and the commitment and devotion of their
followers finally made it possible for them to
achieve an independent state in 1947.
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The first clause of the historical six-

points of 1966
“The Constitution should provide for a Federation
of Pakistan in its true sense based on the Lahore
Resolution, and the parliamentary form of
government with supremacy of a Legislature
directly elected on the basis of universal adult
franchise.”
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Thank You!